His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid (review)

84CIVIL WAR HISTORY Despite his active political role, Grant took much time with his private interests. Never a rich man, he spent much time in supervising activities at his farm in St. Louis through the mails, advising on the sale of horses and improving the blood line of his cattle (he was an expert horseman and judge of livestock), obtaining adequate "insurence" on his investment, and advising on planting (19:28, 30-31, 60-61, 237-38; 20:127-28, 224-25, 259-60, 323-27). He sold his home in New York City to General Sherman (14:122-23; 20:121, 219) but retained a home in Philadelphia, which he leased out (19:35-36), and a vacation home on Long Island (19:219-24). Grant speculated regularly in land, not always successfully, through agents like longtime friend Charles Ford and his father-in-law, Frederick Dent (19:228; 20:76-77, 138-40, 144-47, 177-78). He even took a little time to go trout fishing (20:166-67). As The Papers ofUlysses S. Grant reveal, by taking the oath of office 1869, the new president moved into what would become two of the most controversial terms of office it was ever a chief magistrate's misfortune to bear in American history. It is an onus that Grant continues to bear, although, led by William Hesseltine, some historians have been more forgiving ofhim in the last part of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, many of his personal desires on poUcy were blunted by men of ill will in and out of the administration and by Grant's misguided notion that Congress alone represented the will of the American people. This belief led Grant to be molded by events, a quality emphasized by Brooks D. Simpson. Regardless of one's view of the results of the Grant administration, the president himselfstill comes off as a quiet, honest, firm, and decent man with a strong public and private equanimity. But, as noted by Bruce Catton, Grant usually epitomized the American character rather than rising above it as great executives must. William L. Richter Tucson, Arizona His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid. Edited by Paul Finkelman. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995. Pp. xii, 354. $65.00 cloth; $19-95 paper.) The late ProfessorWilliam B. Hesseltine liked tojoke aboutwhether the Lincoln theme had been exhausted. The publication of another book about John Brown might well raise the same question, but this one is different and makes a unique contribution. Among its contributors are Daniel C. Littlefield on blacks and John Brown, Wendy Hamand Venet on the response of antislavery women, Peter Knupfer on how theraid affected Northern union, PeterWallenstein on theraid's impact on Southern politics, and Seymour Drescher on European reaction to the raid. Several of the essays discuss details of the Harpers Ferry raid. Bertram Wyatt-Brown summarizes the findings of the other essayists and also discusses BOOK REVIEWS85 the vital role of religion in Brown's thinking as well as his mental state. Robert McGlone's essay deals with the question of Brown's possible insanity and of how Virginia's Governor Wise and others reacted to it. Each essay adds to our understanding of the subject. EspeciaUy valuable is Paul Finkelman's discussion of the aboUtionists, who attempted to reconcile their nonresistance with support for Brown by placing blame for the violence on the slave power rather than on the Uberator. Brown himself aided that process after his capture by assuming the role of a gentle Christian martyr. In his essay on the return home from Philadelphia of Southern medical students, James Breeden documents the depth of anger and horror that many Southerners felt after the Harpers Ferry raid. In the final essay, Charles Joyner appUes the sociological theories of Victor Turner to the Brown theme, concluding that Brown's martyrdom made the i860 election "a referendum on the future of slavery" and the Civil War "a war against slavery." The John Brown legend endures in popular thought, an excellent example of terrorism-become-acceptable that helps iUuminate contemporary events as well. Each individual and group found special meaning...